With the advancement of technology, the development of wearable computers has been accelerated.
Here, a wearable computer indicates a computer that may be naturally worn on the human body, as if clothing, a watch, glasses, an accessory or the like were being worn. Smart phones and tablet PCs may be easily used using a finger or a touch pen, but may be inconvenient because they must be carried in the hand, a pocket or a bag.
In contrast, a wearable computer is easy to carry compared to a smart phone or a tablet PC because it may be worn on the wrist or be worn like a pair of glasses.
Particularly, various smart watch products, through which various services, such as weather, messages, announcements, stock quotations and the like, may be retrieved in a wireless manner, are being released.
Meanwhile, a portable terminal is a portable device having one or more of a voice or video call function, a function of inputting and outputting information, a function of storing data, and the like.
With the diversification of functions, a portable terminal has a sophisticated function, such as capturing of a picture or video, playback of music or video files, execution of games, reception of broadcast services, or the like, and it is possible to implement a comprehensive multimedia player by installing these functions all together therein.
In order to implement a portable terminal having these sophisticated functions, new and various attempts involving hardware or software are being made. For example, a user interface environment through which a user may easily and conveniently search for or select a function is being provided.
Further, because a portable terminal is regarded as a personal device, a variety of designs are applied thereto in order to express the owner's individuality.
The structural form of a conventional portable terminal enables the handheld-size device to be carried in the hand or in a pocket. However, while the portable terminal is being carried, damage arising from the loss or fall thereof may occur.
In order to prevent such damage, the case in which a user wears the portable terminal like an article of clothing or an accessory has been proposed. In this case, if the portable terminal is worn on the wrist or aim like a normal watch, the portable terminal is required to realize good wireless network performance and good usability while having a small size in order not to adversely affect its appearance.
Further, when a smart phone is carried in a bag, it is inconvenient in that the owner is required to take the smart phone out of the bag in order to take or make a call or to use a message function. Also, there may be a problem in that the owner cannot receive a call or a message because he or she does not detect that the smart phone is ringing or vibrating in his/her bag.
As conventional technology for solving these problems, there is Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2009-46306, titled “Band-type portable terminal”.
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a conventional band-type portable terminal.
Referring to FIG. 1, a portable terminal 1 includes a terminal body 10 having a display unit 11 arranged on the outer surface thereof, and the opposite ends of the terminal body 10 are connected with a band 20 formed in order to enable it to be worn on the wrist.
The display unit 11 outputs numbers, characters, and still or moving images depending on various modes of the portable terminal 1.
For example, the display unit 11 may be configured to display input numbers when the portable terminal 1 is in a calling mode, to display input text or numbers when the portable terminal is in a message-sending mode, to display a menu in order to enable searching for functions, and to display the current time when the portable terminal is in an idle mode.
On one side of the display unit 11, a manipulation unit 30 for input is arranged. The manipulation unit 30 may include a wheel 31 installed therein, which may rotate in a fixed position in order to quickly move a pointer or a cursor.
The wheel 31 may include push-button keys 32 and 33 at the opposite ends thereof, which may perform an input operation when pushed. Further, in order to enable the wheel 31 itself to perform an input operation when pushed, the wheel may include a switch in the lower part thereof.
A desired menu item or function may be quickly accessed by rotating the wheel 31 forwards or backwards, the corresponding function may be executed by pushing the wheel 31, and movement in a direction other than the direction indicated by the wheel 31 may be performed by pushing the push-button keys 32 and 33.
For example, in order to enable the input of characters or numbers, the portable terminal 1 enumerates numbers and alphabet characters in a display unit 11.
The enumerated numbers and alphabet characters are selected and designated by manipulating the wheel 31 or the push-button keys 32 and 33, whereby a telephone number or text, corresponding to the numbers or alphabet characters, is output through the display unit 11.
On the other side of the display unit 11, a sound output unit 12 for outputting sound is arranged. The sound output unit 12 may output a system alarm or voice depending on various modes of the portable terminal 1, or may output audio signals when multimedia data are reproduced. Furthermore, the sound output unit 12 may be used in a speakerphone mode while talking over the phone.
The band 20 is connected to the terminal body 10 in the form of a wrist watch. The band 20 may be configured such that outer covers, made of leather, rubber or plastic, are stacked, and antenna radiators 60 and 70 may be included in the interior of the band.
A fastener 26 may be placed at the part at which the opposite ends of the band 20 meet in order to be fastened to or unfastened from the wrist. A buckle, a snap-fit hook or the like may be applied to the fastener 26.
Accordingly, the portable terminal 1 may autonomously implement a wireless mobile communication function. That is, the selection of a desired function or input operation may be performed using the manipulation unit 30, a call may be made or taken through the manipulation, and menu items and functions may be retrieved and executed.
However, because this conventional smart watch is worn on the wrist, a display unit installed therein has a small size, and thus it is not easy to operate the smart watch while viewing the actual display.
Also, there is a problem in that while talking on the phone, the voice of the opposite side may not be clearly heard, and the phone owner is required to speak loudly.